via Voice of Russia.
A battle with the use of armored vehicles and artillery is under way on the outskirts of Donetsk, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai has said.I marvel at how the world is unraveling right before our eyes and the fact that most citizens are more focused on the "world cup"...an event that celebrates a sport that isn't even followed in the US!
"Not long ago, a battle began in the suburbs of Donetsk. Artillery and armoured vehicles are being used," Borodai said on Tuesday in Donetsk. According to him, there are dead and wounded already.
Last Friday, after a two-month confrontation, President of Ukraine Petr Poroshenko ordered the security forces to stop shooting until June 27. The militia also pledged to stop the fire, but the long-awaited truce has not yet come to the region: shootings go on, and the parties continue to blame each other.
On a sidenote have you noticed how the fighting has escalated? This originally was simply small unit actions.
Now we're seeing US Army Brigade sized force, mechanized combat, artillery duels, active air defenses against attack helicopters and even transports being shot down.
This has morphed into a quasi-conventional war.
The talking point that they're acting against terrorists no longer is valid.
They're engaged against a modern army.
It's all over but the shooting.
ReplyDelete“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win” -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The way this and Iraq/Syria/Iran is going, the Europeans will end up begging Russia to (officially) invade Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteYeah right... it's like Middle East nations would begging Saudi Arabia to (officially) invade Iraq.
DeleteMiddle east nations have plenty of energy. Western Europe does not. Chaos in Ukraine threatens their already teetering economies. If the US/NATO can't win the covert war, they'll be begging the Russians to move in.
DeleteHow chaos in Ukraine can in any way threaten the Europe economy? Enlighten me. The supply of oil & gas are without any delay or problems all the time, Ukraine is not any serious target of export for any country in Europe. Stock exchange don't even notice that conflict.
Delete30% of Europe's natural gas flows through Ukraine. Now ask yourself what would happen, economically, if it was suddenly shut off.
DeleteThis fight (including Georgia in '08) is all about the strategic control of energy reserves and their delivery to Europe and the US from central Asia.
I don't need to, that was already answered. In case of "Soyuz" and "Brotherhood" pipeline would be blocked the "Jamał", "Blue Stream" & "Nord Stream" pipelines will compensate that with increasing of traffic.
DeleteYou think that this type of situation was not foresee by both EU and Russia Federation long time ago? Disputes between Ukraine and Russia start's in '90 and additional pipelines had eliminated another possible problems with pipelines on Ukraine from global gas & oil sale of Federation.
Ukraine is over and the rebels have lost. They just don't know it yet.
ReplyDeleteThe Russians have made a deal with Poroshenko and seem to have dropped almost all their overt and covert support for the separatist movement.
This has probably been negotiated in return for a quiet de-facto recognition of Russian administration of Crimea.
Without the Russians the rebels will crumble, they are already rapidly losing the support of the populace. Who will begin to look towards the strong and decisive leader Poroshenko to rescue them from the lawlessness that is gripping the Donbas region.
That will not suddenly make the indepence movement stop, and what happens if we see a ISIS like movement, consisting of young russians flooding into ukraine? If they don't watch out they really will become terrorists.
DeleteAfter some of the barbaric actions and the racism of the ukrainian government I wouldn't blame them, remember that town hall that 'mysteriously' burnt down, I have seen videos of them shooting people who were jumping out of the burning building. And they attacked the fire department. That is really sick. These people are really sick, and I am surprised that the situation is not 10x worse for the central government. IMO I don't see how things can go back to how they were.
Why on earth would Putin make a deal?
DeleteUkraine is the strategic pivot for the US's interests in eastern Europe. Either Russia wins control, or the US does. There is no middle ground.
Putin has shown himself to be much better at this game than Obama. Who suddenly has a new distraction in Iraq to worry about. Just as Ukraine distracted him from Syria.
The US is run in circles, chasing its own tail. Until it’s forced to cooperate (almost unthinkably) with Iran – driving a further wedge between the US and Israel. Who doesn’t want to go to war alone with Syria, Iran, AND Russia.
And so Putin gets everything he wants. Or you think this all happens by mere chance?
Jacobite.NZ: That's not sick, that is called total war.
DeleteDropping bombs that set things on fire and some time bombs set to go off when the fire fighters arrive is a tactically sound way of increasing the damage, allowing the damage to continue and strike fear and terror into the hearts and minds of the enemy.
The same way an anti tank hunter hits a tank, then machine guns the crew when they attempt to bail out, maximizes the effort and kills the most valuable of the weapons system, the crew.
The tank they can re build, the crew takes two years to train.
The building they can re build, the firefighters take years to train.
Immoral, illegal, and wrong on every civilized count alas, this is what this war is going to be about, abject cruelty and mass murder affecting civilian populations in order to protect the force and enable the politician's to sue for peace.
The US fought it's last battle in Iraq according to the rules of land warfare plus standing on the moral high ground, look where it got us.
Defeat in purpose even though we won on the battlefield.
Now the middle east will burn, millions will die, then the Caliphate will be born and the rest of the world will burn from an Islamic conquest.
To prevent this and fight back effectively and win we must fight like the enemy does, as Don stated, A military that operates without restraint is very much more effective than one that does not.
If the fighters in this Ukraine battle want to win, they must be savages because that's what the other side will do.
It is war, total war, no moral high ground around.
"War gives no opportunity for repeating mistakes."
The US stood on the moral high ground in Iraq? How laughably false. Our very presence there was an affront to morality, since it was built on lies and deceit from the get-go.
DeleteYes, the ancient Romans or 19th century British/French knew how to take over a country and hold it with ruthless efficiency. But this isn't an option available to the modern West since the invention of mass-media.
Putin seeing the Iraq/Syrian/Iranian connection in a war for the rebirth of a new Caliphate, knows that once Turkey falls only the Black sea will hold the Islamic Armies back and a Russian naval superiority in that body of water holds the key to holding them in check and striking back.
ReplyDeleteVlad Putin is a realist.
Barack H. Obama is an Idealist.
One knows what his nation will face in the coming years.
The other thinks his enemies are domestic and believes helping them will make them his BFF's forever.
One is set to fight the crocodile.
The other is hoping the crocodile will grow fat and full before it reaches him.
One is a realist, the other a fool.
Russia was full of fools too before the USSR collapsed. I hate to wish a similar collapse on America, but I don't know how else we're going to wake up and find real leadership again.
DeleteMetaphorically, we need our Kasserine Pass before a Patton can hope to appear. Comparing any of the last 3 US Presidents with Eisenhower just makes me want to scream in frustration.